Went to Herson's. Overall impression - not bad. BUT, I still have that uneasy feeling. Here's why -

Made appointment and dropped car off to service rep named Miles. He was awesome (no complaints with him, really) and happens to be an instructor up at Summit Point! I gave him my printed litany of things to be done to the car (see above). I swear, I must be a service rep's worst nightmare.

The service was done in a day, I picked the car up last night. Some interesting things he said:

1) He ran the car's VIN # and said that the anchor point/convertible top TSB and the clutch TSB were both taken care of at the factory. Since I have never had any problems with the top or the tranny, I am inclined to believe him. Perhaps 01's made after a certain time were fixed.
2) He said that the car's brake system was self-correcting and that bleeding them wasn't required, even after FATT use, and that they would return to normal (vis-a-vis air in the system), not pads or other wearable components. So guys (especially you Gregg), help me understand why bleeding brakes must be done. Is there a discrepency here?
3) Service seemed to be perfomed well - as should be expected from a compotent Honda dealer.

BUT - what made me a bit skittish about doing business with them was the fact that they charged me $90 to install my clear side marker lights. This should have taken like 5 - 10 minutes from what I understand. I am going to ask them nicely (but forcefully) to reduce that to a more realistic level.

For my own irrational reasons, I'm sticking with Coleman (don't laugh Jim!) for that extra piece of mind in the future.

HP

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hiroprotaganist
[B]Went to Herson's.

 

Fed - thank man, all good points. When I come back from FL (and need another oil change), I'll take the car the J. Coleman with the printed TSBs (which I downloaded fine - thank you). I know they won't give me the runaround there.

I think the best lesson is that I shouldn't be fixing stuff that isn't problematic. I think I hear the gears, but in a weird way, I actuallly like the sound. If there's a problem in the future, well, that's what the warranty is for.

No sense in tearing apart a perfectly good car.

 

Like Fed said re: the brakes--during heavy use the fluid will boil, producing air bubbles in the lines. A side effect of this is the pedal will feel mushy and it will take much harder application of the brakes to stop. This is not a self-correcting situation.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hiroprotaganist
[B]2) He said that the car's brake system was self-correcting and that bleeding them wasn't required, even after FATT use, and that they would return to normal (vis-a-vis air in the system), not pads or other wearable components. So guys (especially you Gregg), help me understand why bleeding brakes must be done.

 

Did anyone ever had an experience with Shockley Honda in Frederick, MD?

 

I haven't had any work done at Shockley for close to ten years but used to have them work on my CRX's. They have left a lasting positive impression on me.

Hopefully someone here has been there lately.

 

How about Heritage Honda of Westminster? I'm leaning toward going to them even though they're 30 miles away because that's where I purchased my car and I already know the tech that works on S2000's (although I only have experience with him doing the pre-delivery inspection). I got a good vibe from them but would like reinforcement

Thanks,

Steve

 

I think that is where Bill (MDS2K.01 or something like that) bought his car, and has it serviced. You should PM him.

 

I'm coming up on my first oil change (3750 miles) so I think I'll give Hendrick Honda here in Woodbridge a chance. Kind of scary though since the Suzuka blue I saw on the lot had the shift knob on upside down (the etching that is).

I'll keep you all updated...